JournalismPakistan.com | Published August 31, 2015
Join our WhatsApp channel
BEIJING: China's main state broadcaster Monday paraded a financial journalist "confessing" to causing the stock market "great losses" as authorities seek to rein in a rout on the exchanges.
Wang Xiaolu (pictured), a journalist with the respected business magazine Caijing, was held after writing a story in July saying the securities regulator was studying plans for government funds to exit the market. Beijing has launched interventions on a grand scale to try - with little success - to shore up plunging share prices after a debt-fuelled bubble burst in June.
Britain's Financial Times reported at the weekend that China had decided to stop buying shares in favor of intensifying a crackdown on those "destabilising" the market, although there was speculation as recently as last Thursday that government funds were acquiring stock.
The ministry of public security also said at the weekend that 197 people had been punished for "spreading online rumours" on several issues, including the markets and giant deadly blasts in the port of Tianjin on August 12. It gave scant details.
China has unleashed an unprecedented package of support measures, including using state-backed entities to buy stocks and cracking down on "malicious" short-selling - when investors sell shares they do not own in anticipation of a fall in their price.
But the moves have done little to calm investors and concerns about the health of China's economy and its ability to manage its finances has infected world markets, sparking one of the worst global sell-offs since the financial crisis on August 24.
State broadcaster CCTV showed Wang as saying that he had sought to create a stir and catch the eyes of readers with his articles.
"I should not have published a report that heavily and negatively affected the market at such a sensitive time... (I) caused such great losses to the country and to stock investors. I am deeply sorry," he said.
Xinhua said Wang was held for fabricating and spreading fake information which had "caused panics and disorder at (the) stock market, seriously undermined the market confidence, and inflicted huge losses on the country and investors".
In China high-profile criminal suspects are regularly paraded on television apparently confessing to their actions, in what rights lawyers say is a violation of criminal procedure.
Once prosecutors post charges, conviction is all but guaranteed in courts which are tightly controlled by the ruling Communist Party.
Journalists' rights group Reporters Without Borders last week said it was "absurd" to blame China's stock market crash on a reporter and called for Wang's immediate release.
"The accusations against Wang are symptomatic of the Chinese government's desire to control media coverage of share price movements," the group's secretary-general Christophe Deloire said in a statement.
"Suggesting that a business journalist was responsible for the spectacular fall in share prices is a denial of reality. Blaming the stock market crisis on a lone reporter is beyond absurd." - AFP
June 11, 2025: Pakistan celebrated a narrow win over Bangladesh, but beneath the jubilation lies a deeper crisis—from sidelined veterans to a collapsing domestic structure—signaling an urgent need for cricket reform.
June 11, 2025: Journalists walked out of the post-budget press conference in Islamabad to protest the absence of a technical briefing and the government's dismissive behavior, calling it unacceptable and intolerable.
May 31, 2025: Dr. Nauman Niaz has issued a defamation notice to Shoaib Akhtar over derogatory remarks made during a recent broadcast, reigniting a longstanding media feud between the two prominent figures in Pakistan.
May 30, 2025: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has demanded the full repeal of PECA, citing its vague language, coercive powers, and threats to free speech and digital rights in Pakistan.
May 30, 2025: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has condemned the murder of journalist Syed Mohammed Shah in Jacobabad, calling for urgent justice and improved safety for media professionals in Sindh.
May 26, 2025: In Rawalpindi, police allegedly side with Jang Group to block 66 reinstated employees from resuming work despite court orders, drawing sharp criticism from unions and press freedom advocates.
May 25, 2025: PFUJ condemns the Jang Group's decision to dismiss over 80 employees in Rawalpindi, calling it an 'economic massacre.' The union warns of nationwide protests if workers are not reinstated.
May 25, 2025: Daily Jang Rawalpindi has terminated over 80 employees, including female staff, despite multiple court rulings in their favor—raising concerns over labor rights violations and misuse of authority in Pakistani media.
May 19, 2025 PJS reports 219 Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli attacks since October 7, with 30 women among the victims. Over 430 were injured and 685 family members were killed. Read more on the systematic targeting of media in Gaza.
May 15, 2025 Discover the legacy of Samiullah Khan, Pakistan’s legendary "Flying Horse," whose breathtaking speed and artistry redefined hockey. From Olympic glory to World Cup triumphs, his story is one of myth, movement, and magic.
May 04, 2025 Algerian authorities suspend Echorouk News TV for 10 days after it used a racist slur against African migrants. ANIRA demands an apology, calling it a violation of human dignity.
May 04, 2025 NCHR and MMfD launch a journalism fellowship to train reporters on digital rights & gender inclusion in Pakistan. Supported by UNESCO, this initiative aims to bridge the gender digital divide. Apply by May 15, 2025!
April 23, 2025 Discover Dr. Nauman Niaz’s In A Different Realm: Story of Quadruple & Triple Centuries 1876–2025, a profound exploration of cricket's most monumental innings, blending historical analysis with poetic narrative.